getting legalled

What do you call it when you go to the courthouse to make it legal months or years after having a commitment ceremony? We call that GETTING LEGALLED, and it's awesome. (Note that there's also the reverse, GETTING WEDDINGED, where you skipped the wedding and just got married at the courthouse for practical purposes, but then decide to throw a big reception for your friends and family months or even years later.)

"My girlfriend and I are getting married in November 2018. We want our friend to get ordained so that he may marry us. What are the steps for same-sex couples getting married?"

There are two considerations for online ordination when having a friend officiate your same-sex wedding: that the online ordination website allows same-sex ceremonies and that online ordination is considered legal in your state/city/county. Let's look at both issues…

I'm non-binary, and she's binary trans. Neither of us have done anything to medically or therapeutically transition and probably won't be any time soon. We were both born and currently live in Tennessee, so even if we did medically transition, I'm pretty sure we're out of luck when it comes to changing our birth certificates. It would be ideal to have a marriage license that uses gender neutral terms like "partner" or "spouse."

Are there any states which have gender neutral marriage certificate language?

My boyfriend has major trust issues from infidelity in his previous marriage. He made it abundantly clear during the early stages of our relationship that he never wanted to remarry. However, he knew that marriage was a must for me. He doesn't want to legally be tied to someone. And I simply don't understand how to compromise on this one. What happens when we have kids? What happens when one of us is in the hospital? I'm so lost and confused and don't know how to meet in the middle.

You're married! Now that you've gone from "Friends with Benefits" to "Couple Sharing Actual Legal Benefits" there is a lot to do to put your married house in order. I now pronounce you… about to do A LOT more paperwork. You need to update the beneficiaries for ALL potential sources of income individually with the relevant institutions to ensure a smooth transition of funds/ownership. Fear not, offbeat couples! Here is a handy chart of who EACH of you should update, and for what. In plain English.

If you're planning to get legally married, the most important step to research is how to get a marriage license. Make sure you know your location's rules before embarking on your magical wedding roller coaster. Here are the basic steps to obtaining the golden ticket to your legal marriage.